One of the many attributes of an educational institute is cleanliness and organized academic paraphernalia. Lockers are an integral part of every educational establishment for tidy safekeeping of students’ belongings.
Given below is a list of factors to consider before investing in the perfect locker for school.
Material
Metal, laminate and plastic are the three materials that are employed while building lockers.
Metal frames have antibacterial coating reinforced steel bodies. They are cost-effective and have a wide range of size and colour options.
Laminate over metal offers resistance towards scratches, unwanted graffiti and impact. It withstands wear and tear and can be cleaned effortlessly.
Plastic is an ideal option for outdoor or damp areas as it’s waterproof/water-resistant.
Locker Door Type
Categorically, locker doors can be of two designs, inset and overlay.
Classy inset doors, with concealed or exposed hinges, require doorknobs to open the door that’s set into the locker frame and fit flush with the face when closed.
Overlays can be full or partial, with the doors covering the face of the locker completely or with a slight gap. They are not set inside the frame and provide maximum storage space.
Both the designs are equally durable and can withstand shocks and vandal attacks.
Compartments
Compartments are a deciding factor about the utility of the storage furniture. One can either go for single-door, for classroom usage or multi-door lockers to save space.
They usually range from 8-15, depending on the necessity of the given room at school. For example, an IT room will have a 350-370 mm width, 15-compartment locker for the security of valuable gadgets like laptops, tablets and netbooks.
Top Design
If space constraint is an issue, one shouldn’t underestimate the ample storage space that a locker top can provide. Flat tops are for storing extra, non-valuable belongings while grooved, sloping top lockers prevent cluttering or spilling of things from the top causing accident and damage.
Charging Facility
To avoid an inconvenience pertaining to electronic equipment running out of charge during important lectures or presentations, one can opt for lockers with a charging facility so that the gadgets are locked away safely while charging.
These lockers also come in separate compartments to provide space, individually, to each student’s possessions without the risk of damage to the LCD or the body of the devices. Rear perforated panels provide sufficient ventilation to prevent overheating of the appliances due to closed space.
Locking Devices
Cam, hasp and staple, combination and coin/token locks are the most commonly used devices.
Cam locks are very secure containing two general and one master key which can be replaced is one misplaces them. Hasp and staple can be used in latches with a choice of padlock and key code and aren’t specific to only one designated locker.
Combination locks and coin return locks do away with keys altogether and can be accessed during an emergency. The former is reprogrammable to the desired code while the latter accept tokens or £1 and are best for multi-user lockers.
Colour
For the body of the locker, neutral shades like white, black and silver-grey are the best, giving a minimalistic sophisticated look. Colours like red, blue, lime, yellow, orange, pearly white, ozone etc for the door would provide the perfect contrast to the furniture.
Level
Single door low-level lockers are best for primary school pupils under the age of 8 while high-level ones are meant for students of age 9 and above, having 2-5 doors for multiple-user facility.
Modular cube and quarto lockers are chic, aesthetic options that can be kept as irregular blocks or stacked one on top of the other.
Choose Right!
Please be mindful of the student needs, the environment of the school area and the security aspect of the lockers, while buying. Here’s hoping that this article helped to provide the key features of school lockers for sale in the UK.